Gators Have Postseason Momentum to Build On

Mike White is 69-37 at Florida and program's only coach to guide the Gators to two NCAA Tournament appearances in his first three seasons.

Gators Have Postseason Momentum to Build On

Monday, March 19, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

UF will say goodbye to Chris Chiozza and Egor Koulechov, but program has gone to back-to-back NCAA tournaments under Coach Mike White.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The sullen, sunken-eyed looks on their faces told the story.

Chris Chiozza and Egor Koulechov sat side-by-side at the post-game podium Saturday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas, and graciously answered questions about, first, their 69-66 loss to Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament East Region and, secondly, about a subject most collegiate seniors dread.

The end of their careers.

"It was a fun ride, with a lot of ups and downs," said Chiozza, the point guard and lone leftover from the Billy Donovan era who in 2015 fleetingly pondered transferring when the iconic coach left for the NBA, but opted instead to stick around and ultimately forged an iconic reputation of his own. "I wouldn't trade any of it for the world."

To his left sat Koulechov, the sharp-shooting forward who came to UF via the graduate transfer route last summer and found the high-major experience he was looking for. He just didn't get the ending.

"It's really sad, because the whole year we grew so much as a team, as people," said Koulechov, whose deadly 3-point shooting touch wasn't there in his final UF game, as he missed a pair of game-tying 3s in the last 45 seconds. "It's been a blessing for me because when I made my decision I said I was not going to look back, and just go with it. I couldn't be happier that I came to the University of Florida, if only for one year."

To their right sat UF coach Mike White, who only then — at that moment — let his thoughts drift to what gymnasiums, locker rooms, training tables, bus rides and opening tips would look like without his top two soldiers.

"If all 13 of my guys were as tough as these two, we'd still be playing," White said. "Some of [our] young guys are going to continue to develop, but these guys, pound for pound, are absolute warriors. They've given us every ounce of energy and focus that we could possibly ask for."

Now, the Gators will move on without them, with the loss of Chiozza, the all-time assists leader in program history, making for the most significant void White has dealt with in his three UF seasons. That's saying some, considering White just got done dealing with the second-most significant one.

Florida went 21-12 overall, finished third in the Southeastern Conference at 11-7, and took third-seeded Texas Tech to the final possession in what amounted to a road NCAA Tournament game despite the absence of 6-foot-11, 255-pound center John Egbunu, whose expected return from reconstructive knee surgery never materialized. The Gators also were without front court freshmen Isaiah Stokes and Chase Johnson. Stokes, like Egbunu, underwent reconstructive knee surgery in the spring of 2017 and basically spent the last year rehabbing and conditioning. The 6-9 Johnson would have been a key reserve, but a pair of concussions (one in the preseason, another four games into the regular season) shut him down in November.

Combined, those three missing "bigs" constituted a front line that probably could have started for more than half the Division-I teams in the country, with a healthy Egbunu among the top five defensive centers in America.

Instead, the best version of the '17-18 Gators was usually a lineup of four perimeter players and either junior center Kevarrius Hayes, who struggled to score and often was physically overmatched on defense, and sophomore forward Keith Stone, a very good "stretch-4" shooter and decent rebounder, who played some of his best ball toward the end of the season. Like Hayes, though, Stone often proved to be an unpolished presence in the post.

With those limitations, defenses pinched tightly on Chiozza, sometimes letting him drive and daring him to finish against bigs while fanning to the perimeter and running Gators shooters off the 3-point line. Or the zoned, knowing UF did not have a center that excelled with post-catche and kick-outs. Oftentimes, that plan worked and frustrated the Gators into playing slower than they'd like and making them stagnant in the halfcourt. Other times, those tactics didn't work and the Gators shot themselves to some huge victories, including late in the season when they upped their defensive buy-in.

Think about it: UF played 18 games against NCAA Tournament teams (going 10-8), including seven straight to end the season; and of the 16 teams remaining in the 2018 NCAA field, the Gators played seven of them and went 4-5.

What Florida was able to accomplish with an unbalanced roster against a rock-solid schedule did not go unnoticed. Especially to those that matter most.

"There are very few complete teams, for any number of reasons, and we were not a complete team personnel-wise because of injuries," UF athletic director Scott Stricklin said. "Given the challenges we had inside, I thought our guys did a wonderful job this year. They became much better defensively and gave us a chance to be a top-three team in our league and come within a basket of going to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament."

White, now 69-37 at UF, became the first coach in school history to win 20 games in each of his first three seasons, the first to take the program to two NCAA tournaments in his first three seasons, and first to reach four NCAA victories in his first two cracks at the tournaments.

The charge now is to build on it in 2018-19, against what figures to be another marquee season for the SEC, and against what may be one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in school history. Per NCAA rules, the team will take this week off and dive into offseason workouts starting March 26.

The departures of Koulechov and Chiozza mean the Gators lose 33 percent of their scoring, 30 percent of their rebounds and 55 percent of their assists. Those percentages could take an even bigger jump if leading scorer and fourth-year junior swingman Jalen Hudson, who is on schedule graduate in May, turns pro. He's expected to test his stock via the collegiate underclassman guidelines.

"Jalen will probably have a decision to make," White said.

Hudson averaged 15.5 points on 45.5 percent overall and 40 percent from the 3-point line, plus 3.9 rebounds. The 6-foot-6, 192-pounder developed into far and away the team's best and most aggressive offensive threat, especially in the final weeks of the season, but also improved on his overall defense. Hudson currently shows up on some mock NBA draft boards as a second-round pick. Should he choose to return, Hudson would be an instant preseason all-star candidate.

Egbunu graduated in 2017, but spent the entire season in grad school and rehabbing in hopes of returning to the court. It didn't happen, and now he's at a cross roads. Egubun has a future playing professional — somewhere — but he also could weigh the option of applying for a medical hardship and get a sixth-year of eligibility. The Gators, however, do not currently have a scholarship opening available, so some unexpected attrition would have to occur.

It usually does.

In each of the last three seasons, the Gators have had no less than two players (including four in 2015) either transfer or turn pro. Those developments allowed for the surprise spring additions of Justin Leon, Canyon Barry, Hudson and Koulechov. Whether a similar development occurs this offseason remains to be seen.

In the interim, UF is set to return 10 players off the current roster and welcome a freshman class of three top-100 prospects, the collection of which is rated among the 10 best in the nation.

Hudson, Stone, Hayes and shooting guard KeVaughn Allen would all count as returning starters, and along with guards Mike Okauru, DeAundrae Ballard and center Dontay Bassett forge the nucleus of returning lettermen. Center Gorjok Gak is expected to undergo surgery to repair a knee injury that hampered his since the fall and could face a long rehab process. The first four names on that list would be the headliners, of course, with Allen, who shot just 36 percent from the floor and 32 from the arc, looking to regain his first-team All-SEC form of 2017, and Hayes being pushed by the coaches to spend more offseason focusing on his offense in the gym.

Minus Chiozza, Okauru's minutes figure to increase, though he looked more the part of a two-guard this season than a point man. Ballard did not play much as a freshman during the SEC slate, but the coaches love his offensive ceiling, and his work ethic even more. If Bassett can learn to play smarter defense (and foul less), he'll get more minutes because of his willingness to take on contact, which could turn him into a good post defender and rebounder.

Stokes is a wide-body with great hands and deft touch, both around the basket and from the outside (that counts the 3-point line, as well). Healthy, he would have given the Gators a unique pick-and-pop they've not had in the post since Erik Murphy. Defensively, though, Stokes he will be a work in progress, especially in ball-screen coverage. Johnson is one of the best athletes on the team, runs and jumps like a thoroughbred, and with a full offseason and preseason of contact should know his way around the system come fall.

All three incoming freshmen figure into the plans, what with each considered among the top of their class at what they do best.

Incoming freshman Andrew Nembhard (2) was one of the nation's best point guard prospects and will arrive at UF this summer as the best signee of the Mike White era.

* Five-star point guard Andrew Nembhard, a 6-foot-4 Canadian by way of powerhouse Montverde (Fla.) Academy, is the most decorated signee of the White era and figures to be handed the ball (and keys to the offense) the moment he walks in the gym. Nembhard has length, great vision and will rival Chiozza in his pass-first unselfishness.

* Guard Noah Locke, a 6-3, 205-pounder from Owens Mills, Md., lit up the AAU circuit last summer and along the way carved himself a reputation as one of the best pure shooters in the '18 class. Think Michael Frazier II.

* Guard/forward Keyonte Johnson, at 6-6, 195 pounds and from Norfolk, Va., will bring a 41-inch vertical jump, dogged defense and all-out energy to the Gators. In a program that lacked emotion and fire this season, Johnson will be a breath of fresh air (and fire, hopefully).

That's where things stand now — and they're subject to change.

What won't change, though, is the optimism of where Florida is and where it's headed. Under White, the Gators appear to be in great hands at a time when the landscape of the college game is very much under scrutiny.

"I have an incredible amount of faith in Mike White as our coach and as a person," Stricklin said. "I sleep really well at night when it comes to our basketball program, and there are probably some people in my position around the country who couldn't say that."